From the next day, the party participated in the scenario again.
"As expected, wearing a mask makes me feel at ease."
Dansu ahjussi also nodded at Kyung Sein's words.
"It feels like I was naked and then put on clothes."
I may be wondering how they could feel that way when they only wore a mask, but after actually wearing a mask, the attitudes of my companions changed significantly.
[The character 'Kyung Sein' regains confidence.]
I also felt fortunate that I was wearing a mask. Because I wasn't confident in hiding my expression.
I slowly turned my head and looked at Dansu ahjussi.
[Character information regarding the character 'Lee Dansu' is being updated.]
A cold sensation clung to my spine. I once received a message in Gwanghwamun that Ye Hyunwoo had become a 'character'.
However, following Kyung Sein, now there is even Dansu ahjussi.
What are the standards for 'alternative characterization'? What is the difference between a 'character' and a person who is not a 'character'?
Cha Yerin said.
"Hide in a small story to avoid being eaten by a huge story."
"Yes?"
"There are stories that can only be seen objectively if they are hidden."
A bit late, I realized that it was a story about 'masks'.
I could see prisoners bustling around outside the window.
It was easy to read the facial expressions of all the maskless beastmen. Happy, sad, angry or tired faces.
Now that they have become part of the Recycling Center, they can only make facial expressions enforced by 'Zone 13'.
Kyung Sein muttered as if she was impressed.
"They said everything in the
This 'mask' is the minimum narrative that can protect us.
The Recycling Center was informing us now. In order not to be swept away by the big story, you have to keep your own story straight.
Just like Kim Dokja once did.
[You understand the essence of the 'Recycling Center'.]
[Main scenario updated!]
The main scenario was updated as if it had been waiting for it.
I immediately checked the message.
Category: Main
Difficulty: S+
Clear conditions: Unite the beastmen of Zone 13 and challenge the throne of the
Time limit: 60 days
Reward: Obtain a ticket to attend the Chinese Zodiac Banquet, choose between 300,000 coins or 50,000 recycled coins and obtain the story fragment 'Understanding of the Unemployed'.
Failure: —
* There are 'additional clear conditions' in this scenario.
Kyung Sein, who had confirmed the reward, opened her mouth with joy.
"Zodiac Banquet? Isn't this something like the 'Constellation Banquet'? I really enjoyed the 'Constellation Banquet' episode."
"Can we see Uriel and Jecheon Castle?"
"This is in the name of the zodiac, so I think only people from the zodiac will come."
Chinese zodiac banquet.
It was the very event that 'The Tiger Who Eats Rice Cake' once mentioned.
I didn't know that it was an event that occurred at the 'Recycling Center'.
If you think about it, this round's
However, in this round, it even has a scenario through a stage called 'Recycling Center'.
In a situation where I don't know what kind of
「 'Understanding the Unemployed' is a story fragment that must be acquired in order to confront the
A story fragment that is mentioned in Yoo Jonghyuk's recollection in 'Ways of Survival'.
I must clear this scenario at all costs.
The problem is the clear conditions.
[Check additional clear conditions.]
—You must secure the support of prisoners to challenge the 'unification of Zone 13'.
—When more than 80% of the population supports you, you will be elected as the 'representative' of Zone 13.
—When elected as a district representative, you can form a committee responsible for Zone 13.
[Currently, 9% of prisoners in Zone 13 support you.]
"Have you all checked the additional clear conditions?"
In response to Ye Hyunwoo's question, the group members nodded one by one.
"Should we each tell our approval ratings? It says 3 percent."
"I'm… zero percent."
"It's one percent."
As Kyung Seun and Dansu ahjussi spoke, Cha Yerin also opened her mouth.
"Two percent."
The last answer was Killer King, who was smiling meaningfully.
"5%. Kim Dokja, what percentage do you have?"
"Nine percent."
Ye Hyunwoo nodded his head.
"The representative will be Dokja-ssi."
After 「The Three Little Pigs」, the inn's crane owner changed his attitude towards us. Not only did he not charge us for meals, he even changed our accommodations.
"I don't have anything in particular to wish for."
That's what he said, but the crane owner seemed like he wanted to tell us something every time he saw us.
"If there's anything you want to ask for, please let me know anytime."
The crane owner said with a bitter smile.
"I think you are very brave. Just don't be too disappointed if not everyone is as brave as you."
At his unexpected honesty, I hesitated for a moment and then added.
"It's okay. That's…"
"It was truly an amazing sight when you slaughtered the pig. I'm sure some beastmen were impressed by your performance. There were also others whose hearts were boiling. But."
After a short pause, the owner continued his words.
"Not everyone can do that. The beastmen here will be more afraid of you when they see you."
I didn't understand it at first, but when I thought about it carefully, it made sense.
"Are they afraid of change?"
"It's similar."
"But they can't live like this forever, right? Even with 'The Three Little Pigs'—"
"The prisoners stayed here too long."
They stayed too long.
It was a bit of a feeling of déjà vu.
Was it the demon world? Or was it paradise?
I think Kim Dokja also heard something similar somewhere.
"Not everyone wants to have their own 'mask'."
The owner's voice conveys a strange sense of fatigue. A thought suddenly occurred to me.
Maybe the beastmen here are not afraid of the Zodiac.
Having a mask means building your own story.
They are now afraid of taking responsibility for their own stories.
After quickly devouring the omelet rice made by the chef, I went out to the vacant lot and checked the stories I had accumulated so far one by one.
[A new story is germinating within you.]
Excluding the 'Persistent Murim Master' obtained from Dragon Head Ark, there were a total of four stories that I accumulated on my own.
「 Recorder of things that will disappear obtained at Seoul Station. 」
「 Heir to the Eternal Name obtained after defeating the Deity of the Other World together with Han Sooyoung. 」
And 「The One Who Rewrites Fate」 obtained by dealing with the giant nebulae with the Demon King of Salvation.
Lastly, the new story I will get this time.
Since the sponsor contract has already been completed, completing five stories won't suddenly make me a constellation, but I felt that I had built up stories quite steadily, even compared to Kim Dokja in the main story.
[A new story awaits your new achievements.]
[Additional achievements are required to fully blossom the story.]
It was a message I had never heard before, but it wasn't a bad situation.
Rather good.
The longer it takes for blossoming to occur, the higher the level of the story I obtain. If high-level stories are successfully developed, the name of 'Kim Dokja' will become even more widespread.
[A few constellations in the nebula
As if they knew that fact, the constellations of the Chinese zodiac seemed to be keeping me in check.
However, there were no constellations directly interfering with Zone 13.
I know why they are hesitant to intervene.
[Student.]
It's because of this wolf.
[That's not how you do it.]
A god from another world who defeated the pig constellations that activated 「Staging」.
Since yesterday, I have been learning [The Way of the Wind] from him.
[I'll show you again.]
[Way of the Wind was Kim Dokja's main skill.]
Kim Dokja also had a hard time learning this skill.
[I don't understand why you can't do this.]
"Hmm, maybe it's because I don't have a charm?"
Originally, [Way of the Wind ] was a skill that only incarnations with the 'Imyuntar Charm' could learn.
However, I have no luck as I did not participate in the 'disaster scenario'.
[Since I am no longer the 'guide' of the scenario, I can teach [Way of the Wind ] regardless of whether the charm exists or not.]
"The use of skills is blocked in Zone 13. Maybe that's why I can't learn it—"
[That's why it's being taught in the form of story fragments. Skills are stereotypical surnames, and surnames are refined tales. In other words, if you know how to handle stories, you can use [Way of the Wind ] without activating the skill.]
"Okay."
Yes. I am a talentless piece of trash.
[I'll show you again, so follow along carefully.]
Lycaon blinked slowly and took a deep breath.
[A gale in my left hand, a storm in my right hand. Where straight lines and curves collide, the path of the wind will open.]
The fierce wind split before my eyes, truly opening the [Way of the Wind].
Once again, I was amazed.
That's the original [Way of the Wind].
It feels different from what the Demon King of Salvation used.
[Now, try following along. A gale in my left hand.]
I hesitantly followed Lycaon.
"Gale in the left hand."
[Crung! Bigger! A storm in my right hand.]
"In my right hand... a storm!"
[Where straight lines and curves collide, the path of the wind will open! Shout out with some confidence!]
The only people who are okay with reciting lines like this are probably Kim Namwoon or Yoo Jonghyuk. The former is that kind of guy, and the latter is a cool guy no matter what he says.
As neither of the two, I had to mumble like a small octopus.
"Where straight lines and curves collide, the path of the wind will open..."
[The constellation 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' likes 'Way of the Wind'.]
Naturally, [Way of the Wind] was not opened.
Lycaon looked at me blankly and asked.
[Why can't you do it? I told you everything. again! A gale in your left hand!]
Finally, I couldn't bear it anymore and answered.
"That's just shouting out words like that."
[No. It is important to understand this 'enlightenment'.]
What kind of enlightenment is there?
[You must understand the meaning contained in the story.]
No, I mean, in a gale and storm, what great meaning does it have?
[Look at them.]
Lycaon pointed to the group of people who, like me, were practicing [Way of the Wind] in an open space about a dozen steps away.
The first person that caught my eye was Cha Yerin.
"Left hand. Gale. Right hand. Storm."
The energy of the wind was rushing from both her hands as she freely chanted the spell.
Although it was not as grand as Lycaon's, it was definitely the [Way of the Wind].
[Incredible! Oh, she is a very outstanding incarnation. She truly understands the nature of the wind.]
For reference, it only took 30 minutes for Cha Yerin to learn [Way of the Wind].
I was curious about the secret and asked, and Cha Yerin answered as follows.
"I just… just did it and it worked."
There are just geniuses in this world.
I gave up trying to figure out the secret and looked back at the other group members.
The man who had been repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fist in a corner from earlier said with a light sigh.
"As I get older, it's not easy to learn new things."
For your reference, Dansu ahjussi succeeded in learning [Way of the Wind] in five hours.
Kyung Sein, who was practicing [Way of the Wind] next to him, also added a word.
"You have too much humility. You learned an hour faster than me…"
"Hmm, that's what Kim Dokja said. In this world, age and gender don't matter."
"Wow, you remember that too."
"I actually have a good memory."
I doubt whether that person is really Dansu ahjussi who mistook Sneaking Schemer for Secretive Plotter.
"Anyway, Hyunwoo is late."
"He went out scouting to test the Way of the Wind, so why not come back around evening?"
Ye Hyunwoo, who had mastered [Way of the Wind] early on, was also flying around Zone 13.
For reference, it took 3 hours for Ye Hyunwoo to get his first wind.
Among the group, he had the second best score after Cha Yerin.
"Kim Dokja, could it be that you still haven't mastered [Way of the Wind]?"
I grinned at Killer King, who was approaching me sloppily. I never thought the day would come when I would be happy to see that face.
"Killer King-ssi, didn't you learn it too?"
"What nonsense? I mastered it right away."
Killer King, with a confident expression on his face, spread his hands wide and shouted loudly.
"A gale in my left hand! A storm in my right hand!"
When I thought about it, there were people other than Kim Namwoon and Yoo Jonghyuk who could confidently shout that spell.
"…The way of the wind will open!"
I felt a slight wind moving along with the spell.
I asked while looking at Killer King.
"Isn't that just clapping your hands quickly?"
"The training stops at this point, I have learned everything about [Way of the Wind]."
No matter how you looked at it, it was the back of a person who had given up and was running away. Lycaon, who was watching Killer King from afar, muttered in admiration.
[It was successful.]
"That was a success?"
[It's faint, but I can feel the texture of the wind. You really are a great hard worker. That's impressive. But No matter how I look at it, I don't think you understand the gist of 'Way of the Wind' at all...]
Suddenly, I became the only person who couldn't learn [Way of the Wind].
Still, I didn't feel too bad.
I saw the group of people lined up laughing and talking, and then I saw little Yoo Jonghyuk sleeping leisurely on the bench.
Behind them stood our little brick house. Although it wasn't as big of a house as Kim Dokja Company wanted to live in, it was still our first house.
[Student.]
"Yes."
[Even if you are reincarnated, you are still the same.]
Shortly after being summoned, Lycaon realized that I was the reincarnation of Kim Dokja.
It was natural.
Because he is a 'god from another world'.
Lycaon must have quickly realized that the story I had was different from the 'Kim Dokja' he remembered.
Nevertheless, Lycaon did not change his attitude toward me. Even though he didn't have a 'favorite friend' and couldn't recall any memories with him, he still treated me as the 'Kim Dokja' he knew.
Perhaps it was not me, but his courtesy to the story left behind by the 'Demon King of Salvation'.
"I'm sorry. I thought it would be easy this time since I learned it in my previous life, but I guess I'm not talented."
Lycaon looked at me with strange eyes.
An expression that seems sympathetic, lonely, or quietly observing.
[Even in your previous life, student never learned any skills. Even though you've used it before.]
"Well... I did."
I also want to steal it, but damn, I don't have [bookmark].
[Does student know why he can't learn [Way of the Wind]?]
"Hmm."
I thought of a sentence about [Way of the Wind] in my head.
「 'When one wind meets another wind, it forms Taegeuk, and when one wind meets another wind, it forms yin and yang.' 」
It is explained in 'Ways of Survival', and [Way of the Wind] read again by Kim Dokja.
"'Four winds meet to form a direction, and then four more winds are added to form the Myo of the Eight Trigrams. As a result, the wind exists everywhere and nowhere.'"
I remembered every single sentence about it.
Maybe that's where the problem lies.
[You are a being that cannot understand [Way of the Wind]. To be more precise—]
Some understanding comes only when you let go of what you know.
But I can't do that.
[It seems that [Way of the Wind] has already been 'recorded' in you .]